Directions

Place beef in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Pour in water. Cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Remove cover, and cook until liquid has evaporated, and beef is well browned, about 10 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine beef broth, red wine vinegar, chili powder and cumin. Pour over beef. Cover, and cook until meat is very tender, and pulls apart easily, about 2 hours. Allow to cool, then shred and mix with pan juices.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

Brush both sides of each tortilla with melted butter. Spoon shredded beef filling down center of each tortilla. Fold ends over filling, then fold sides to center to make a packet. Place chimichangas, seam side down, in a 9- by 13-inch baking pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa.

Most Helpful Positive Review

Nov 05, 2003

This came out great, but I changed it up a bit. I used 2 pound of lean stew meat, and I was in a hurry, so I half defrosted it, then I put it in a skillet with a cups of water and some garlic cloves, and let that defrost some more until the water evaporated and it slightly browned. Then I put it in my crock pot with 2 cups of beef broth and the full amount of chili powder and more cumin than the recipe called for...about another half teaspoon more...and the red wine vinegar...left it on low for 8 hours. When I came home, all I had to do was stir it and it all fell apart, and the juice was absorbed, but it was not dry at all, it was still very juicy.
I made chimichangas out of it, but it could totally be used for everything! Burritos, tacos, taquitos...I'm going to try it next with chicken, but the beef came out awesome...and because it was already cut up, there was no fat to mess with.
My husband and I both really enjoyed it!
You could also make machaca out of leftovers, if you have any! (Scrambled egg with beef)

Most Helpful Critical Review

May 13, 2010

Process is great, however the flavor needs improvement. Found via Food Network some additions that made the flavor jump into the meat: Remove cooled meat to separate bowl, saute 1/2 onion, chopped & 2 cloves garlic, minced in remaining meat juices and 1 T oil. When soft, return meat to pan. Add 2 chopped tomatoes (I used 1/2 can rotel) & 1/2 chopped bell pepper (I also added 2 jalapenos). Let simmer til meat is moist, not juicy. Remove from stove and assemble. I also added salt/pepper (since this recipe doesn't call for ANY). The meat is AWESOME. When assembling, I did add some shredded cheese, so we'll see how that comes out of the oven.

i made these for cinco de mayo and had NO leftovers! i did the beef in the slowcooker and made 8 minis instead fo 4 large. the meat was very tender...i used a rump roast. excellent. i served with a brown chipotle sauce found on the web. Here's a light brown chipotle sauce:
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 c beef broth
1 c water
1 t cumin
3 cloves garlic -- minced
1 t oregano
3 canned chipotle chiles -- seeded and minced
(3 to 4) (These are not all that hot)
2 T adobo sauce from can
2 T sour cream

Awesome!! I scaled it down for 2. I made this in the pressure cooker. I lightly browned the meat, then added all the rest of the ingredients, except the cheese, and pressure cooked for 15 min. I turned off the burner, but left the pot on it and let the pressure drop on its own, about 20 min. I removed the lid and transferred the meat to a dish with a slotted spoon and shredded it with two forks. I then returned it to the the pot added a small can of green chilies and cooked the juice down, but was careful not to dry the meat. I used large flour tortillas and even with scaling the recipe to 2 servings it still made 4 chimichangas. I put the cheese on top of the meat before folding. There was plenty of filling. I pan fried them in just enough oil to cover bottom of pan. I served them topped with mexican shredded cheese, salsa, and sour cream. I didn't have any guacamole or would have used that too. They tasted just like the ones I have eaten at Mexican restaurants. I Will definitely make these again.

This is an absolutely fantastic recipe!!! I've made it twice and everyone loves it. The only suggestion my hubby had was putting the shredded cheese with the meat mixture. So the second time I doubled the amount of cheese and put a generous portion on the meat mixture, as well as on the top. It was a big hit !!!

I can't say how good the meat portion of this recipe was:because I used leftover roast beef. But, I sure am glad someone recommended (on the Recipe Exchange), because I loved the mechanics of the recipe. I would have never thought of brushing tortillas w/ butter and cooking at a high temp to produce a crisp "wrapping"! I added Provolone to the inside and they turned out delicious.

My family liked this, but I think it could use a little more flavor. I added some salt and cayanne to the beef while it was cooking, which helped. Next time, I think I'll add a diced onion and some garlic when I add the beef broth. And I'll de-fat the broth with a strainer before mixing the beef back into it, because it was a little on the greasy side. Overall though, a great recipe!

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.